Chocolate Almond Torte
- ½ cup blanched almond flour or a scant ½ cup whole blanched almonds
- 2 Tbsp. flour
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate with 70% cacao, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup California Olive Ranch extra virgin olive oil
- 1/8 tsp. fine sea salt
- 4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar, divided
- 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
- Additional extra virgin olive oil, for serving
- Flakey sea salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of 8x3 inch spring form pan with olive oil.
Combine the almond flour with the flour. Or, in a food processor, pulse the whole almonds and flour until the almonds are finely ground. Set aside.
Place the chocolate, olive oil, and salt in a large heatproof bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is nearly melted. Remove from heat and stir until smooth and melted. Whisk in the egg yolks and ½ cup of the sugar. Set aside.
In a clean dry bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar at medium speed until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining ¼ cup sugar and beat at high speed until the egg whites are stiff but not dry. Use a large rubber spatula to fold one quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Scrape the remaining egg whites into the bowl and pour the almond mixture on top. Fold just until the egg whites and almonds are evenly incorporated into the batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the torte comes out with moist crumbs, 25 to 30 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool.
To serve, slide a slim knife around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake. Remove the pan sides and transfer the cake to a platter. Serve slices with a drizzle of olive oil and a few flakes of sea salt.
Note: The flavors of fragrant olive oil and dark chocolate in this otherwise classic torte will surprise and delight you. Try it with Arbequina for bright fruit notes or Arbosana for an earthier nutty flavor. Bake the torte one day ahead to allow flavors to develop.
Recipe created by Alice Medrich especially for California Olive Ranch.
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